Naslov
Gambling characteristics of addicts in therapeutic communities in Croatia

Autori
Ricijaš, Neven ; Dodig Hundrić, Dora ; Mandić, Sabina

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, ostalo, znanstveni

Skup
10th International Conference: Research in Education and Rehabilitation Sciences – ERFCON2023

Mjesto i datum
Zagreb, Hrvatska, 05.05.2023. - 07.05.2023

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
addiction ; gambling ; gambling addiction ; therapeutic communities ; treatment

Sažetak
Addiction is a multidimensional problem correlated with other mental health issues, one of them being other types of addiction. Research on comorbidity of different substance addictions is well established in previous research, while the focus of this study is to explore gambling behaviour and gambling related problems among addicts who seek psychosocial interventions within different therapeutic communities (TC) in Croatia. The study was conducted with N=265 addicts (m=84, 7% ; f=15, 3 ; Mage=35, 9 ; SDage=9, 22) within 7 therapeutic communities. Since TC provide different psychosocial support for various clients, the inclusion criterion was that the individual had been diagnosed with at least one addiction (alcohol, drug and/or gambling addiction). This allowed us to examine the extent to which professionals working at TC face gambling problems as a specific behavioural addiction. In addition to general personal characteristics (age, gender, etc), this study explored the prevalence of gambling in the past three months, the level of problem gambling (Problem Gambling Severity Index – PGSI), preferred game, age of the first onset of gambling and comorbidity of different addiction-related problems. The results show that 29, 2% of addicts have symptoms of problem gambling (gambling addiction) which is more than ten times more prevalent than among the general population. As expected, these problems are more prevalent among males (31, 7%), even though a considerable percentage of female participants also suffer from gambling addiction symptoms (17, 5%). At the same time, 18, 8% of gambling addicts have never been diagnosed with the gambling addiction, highlighting the necessity of adequate assessment and intervention programs within TC.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Edukacijsko-rehabilitacijske znanosti

POVEZANOST RADA